Where are We Now?

Where are We Now? 

There!  We did it…finishing the study of the book of Colossians, tagging on the short letter of Philemon. 

Paul finished his heart toward the Colossians with, “Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.  Here is my greeting in my own handwriting—Paul . . . May God’s grace be with you.” 

And so I asked myself, ‘am I carrying out the ministry the Lord gave me?’  Huh, before we turn the page, I think an accounting is in order.  Remember the parable of the Talents, where Jesus described three different measures of talents given to three men by their master?  He went away, and when he came back, each had to give an accounting of what he had done with the talent he had been given.  This is my accounting, of what I have been given to do—now. 

The ministry the Lord gave me covers five groups of people:

1.  I am a wife and mother to my family—four children

2.  I am a corporate pastor to two companies

3.  I am the teaching pastor to a group of ladies who have become my family--Women of Passion

4.  I am an international pastor to the hundreds who read my Bible studies—

“Morning Briefings”

5.  I lead Fellowship of Christian Athletes at my local high school, and an offshoot of that ministry as well, ‘Sunday Night Live’.

And from time to time, I speak at retreats, luncheons, and officiate at funerals—all of which are a great joy to me.

The first group requires little explanation, but if you’d like to see my family, check out www.pastorwoman.com.  I adore my four children, one grandson and one little guy on the way!

Second - What the heck is a corporate pastor? I lead upper management team in a weekly international conference call prayer meeting, have face-to-face Bible study sessions, and counsel with those within the company who need spiritual direction, comfort or encouragement.  From the beginning of this corporate relationship, God has taught us and shown us over and over again to seek him for two basic things: his favor and his wisdom.  “May the favor of the Lord rest upon us, confirm and establish the work of our hands; yes, confirm and establish the work of our hands.”  Psalm 90.17  and “If you lack wisdom, ask God, and he will give it to you.”  James 1.5   

Third – Women of Passion is a weekly Bible study I started 12 years ago, and so much more!  Our growing community is authentic, diverse, loving, accountable, and ‘there’ for each other. If you live anywhere near South Orange County, California, you are welcome to become a Woman of Passion.

Fourth – I think of this as “rest of world”.  God has taken the Morning Briefing readership into the thousands, distributing the Word to 116 countries, via written and podcast formats.  Podcasts are free and available through iTunes, and of course, they enable you to hear the emotion and inflection in my voice, which adds just a little to the delivery!  Daily I hear back from those in Pakistan, India, African countries or from those I will never meet until Heaven. In just the last week, readers have added in from China and Auckland, New Zealand, and I have been asked to partner with a ministry in Kenya.

Morning Briefings have two purposes—to go verse-by-verse through books of the Bible, and also to weave in timely, discipleship lessons that are apropos to the Christian life—such as ‘how do you hear the voice of God?’  ‘How do you keep going when life doesn’t go like it should?’  The archives of Morning Briefings are downloadable on www.pastorwoman.com.  Some are listed as topical, others from the various Bible books themselves.  Please take a look, as this is the bulk of what I do—how I spend my time.

In addition, I lead the local ‘huddle’ of FCA—the hardest ministry endeavor I have ever undertaken!  (hard because of the complexities of relationships with teen-aged students and their changing natures these days—hard because they can rip your heart like a flimsy piece of paper!) 

All of these ministries are under the umbrella of Pastorwoman Corp., a 501-C3.

That is my brief accounting to you this day.  I ask for your prayers, and I humbly ask for your financial, (tax-deductible) support as well.  All moneys go 100 percent to the support of the spread of the gospel in the above-mentioned enterprises. 

Onward then, to the book of Ephesians!